1MDB’s advisory board is chaired by Prime Minister Najib Razak.
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He has been charged with plotting to “undermine parliamentary democracy”, a vague charge that critics have said is open to government abuse.
“A spokeswoman for the FBI’s New York office said that no agent in the office had arranged to speak with Khairuddin or had any previous contact with him”, wrote WSJ.
“He (Khairuddin) was remanded starting from today (Saturday) onwards until Thursday under Section 124C of the Penal Code…”
Federal CID director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh confirmed the remand order which was granted by the magistrate.
Khairuddin has already lodged complaints in Switzerland and Hong Kong regarding banking activity involving 1MDB, which has been linked to various individuals under investigation by Switzerland for suspected corruption.
But he pledged to cooperate with the police and said he would appear at Bukit Aman on Monday as requested.
In their response, Malaysian government officials accused Khairuddin of lodging “false and politically motivated police reports” and pushing the same agenda as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been insistent in his calls for Najib to step down.
The FBI’s probe was the latest global investigation centred on 1MDB, said the business daily in its online report.
While Najib has since eliminated the internal threats by dropping the party’s deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and a vice president from his Cabinet and replacing the Attorney-General and head of police intelligence in July, his actions contributed to shrinking confidence in the economy due to anxiety over governance issues.
In February, Najib’s United Malays National Organisation ousted Khairuddin from the party after he was declared bankrupt. The fund has been dogged by controversy over its $11 billion debt and alleged financial mismanagement.
Khairuddin is not the first person to say he had been prevented from leaving the country.
Through his Facebook page, Khairuddin said he had to forgo his trip to New York and London following the ban.
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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an investigation into allegations of money-laundering at troubled Malaysian state fund 1MDB, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday citing an unidentified source.
